“In the morning, as he was returning to the city, he became hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside, he went to it and found nothing on it but only leaves. And he said to it, ‘May no fruit ever come from you again!’ And the fig tree withered at once.
“When the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, ‘How did the fig tree wither at once?’ And Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, “Be taken up and thrown into the sea,” it will happen. And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.’” (Matthew 21:18-22 ESV)
Jesus Christ, when he lived on the earth, often (or frequently) spoke in parables and/or in figurative and illustrative language. I believe this was one of those instances. For, in context, Jesus had just healed the blind and the lame in the temple. But when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children praising him, they were indignant. And so they said to Jesus, “Do you hear what these are saying?” (meaning, the children) And so Jesus said, “Yes, have you never read, ‘Out of the mouth of infants and nursing babies you have prepared praise’?”
And following that, the next day, Jesus did what he did to the fig tree, which many believe was illustrative of those who professed faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jabob – Father, Son (Jesus Christ), and Holy Spirit – but who were hypocrites, for they did not bear fruit (the results) of being in fellowship with God/Christ, in submission to his will, and in obedience to his commands in holy living. And cursed are all who reject Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and who refuse to bow to him as Lord and who will not submit to his will for their lives, but who stubbornly continue to go their own way.
So, what did Jesus’ actions illustrate for us? First he examined the tree, which then was representative of the nation of Israel, but today it would be the church, i.e. in this case all those who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who are not bearing fruit in keeping with repentance and for the kingdom of God. And so he cast judgment on the people who were his people then, and now on the people who profess to be his people but who give lip service only to the Lord but whose hearts are far from him. For he said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven but the one DOING the will of God the Father in heaven (Matthew 7:21-23).
So, if we were to emulate Jesus in what he did, not literally, but figuratively speaking, what should that look like? Well, since we are not sinless like Jesus was, we should be those who first of all examine our own hearts and lives so that we don’t end up trying to take a speck out of our brothers’ or sisters’ eyes while we have a log in our own eye. And we should make certain that we are walking the walk and that we are not among those who are just talking it. And we must forsake anything that is sinful and against God, and then follow our Lord in obedience to his commands in holy living.
Then we can see clearly to examine the church of today (or what is being called “church”) to look for fruit. And if we find that there is not fruit (and this would not be everyone, but most likely the majority) because we find that they are giving lip service to the Lord, (for the many have not been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and they have not been raised to walk in newness of life in Christ, no longer as slaves to sin, but sin is still their practice and righteousness and obedience are not their practice), then we can declare the judgments of God on those who do not bear fruit.
And then we are to tell those who are professing faith in Jesus Christ, but who are not bearing fruit in keeping with repentance, to judge themselves by the standards of God and of the teachings of Christ and of his NT apostles, and that they are to die to self (throw themselves into the sea), to turn from their sins and their idolatry and spiritual adultery, and that they are now to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands and to now live as slaves of God and of his righteousness in holy living, and no longer as slaves to sin and in worship of idols (Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23).
And we are to believe the Lord and his word and to teach his word as though we believe what it says, too. We are to have the faith to follow our Lord in obedience in doing the kinds of things he did, and to say the things that he said, and to share with the people the truth of the gospel which includes warnings about judgment if we do not obey the Lord and if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin against him. And we are not to be afraid of the people and what they might think about us or what they might say about us, for their eternity is at stake. So we must tell them the truth.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Pet 2:24; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
VOICE OF TRUTH
By Mark Hall & Steven Curtis Chapman
II Corinthians 12:7-10/I Corinthians 1:20-24
Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they’d have had the strength to stand
But the giant’s calling out my name and he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times I’ve tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again, “Boy you’ll never win!”
“You’ll never win!”
But the voice of truth tells me a different story
The voice of truth says, “Do not be afraid!”
And the voice of truth says, “This is for My glory”
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the voice of truth
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